A Dysfunctional Family
by PriscaBoffin
Summary: Amy, Tash, Ollie, Ali, Lilly, Tom, Mark and James are a group of hunters who have devoted their lives to keeping people safe from what lurks in the dark. When their greatest threat is revealed they have to choose between what's right, and the safety of their family. Set in the UK
1. Chapter 1

**Strangeways**

The dark halls lit slowly to the dim torch light being shone against the cell walls. The silence broken by the high clicking sound against the cold stone.

"Was it really necessary to wear heels on a hunt?" Amy asked raising her eyebrows at the black leather boots her companion wore.

"Just because i'm probably going to end up covered in blood, doesn't mean i can't look good." Tash shrugged, sweeping her chocolate brown hair over her shoulder. Amy rolled her eyes and they kept walking. "Considering this place is supposed to be haunted ... it's dead." Tash yawned, stretching her arms.

"Pun intended?" Amy asked peeking round a corner before walking out.

Tash thought for a moment, "... Yes."

Amy rolled her eyes again and pushed a the door open that read 'Staff Only', "Well you're right about one thing ... We've been walking for an hour and seen no signs of any ghosts or ghouls."

"So what you're saying is ... I could have gone out with Jack tonight?" Tash muttered kicking a chair out of the way to get to a desk. "Wonderful."

Amy glared at her before sighing, "I don't get it. There's been hundreds of sighting over the years! That woman ..."

"Was senile." Tash finished.

"She wasn't senile! She was just ... old."

"And senile."

Amy scowled, "Just keep looking would you!"

Tash smirked and opened the top draw, sifting boredly through the papers and forms and dropping them back in and opening the second. "Ooh." She said pulling out a pistol and aiming it at her friend, "Look what I found."

"I hope you checked if that was loaded before pointing that at me." Amy said, not looking up from the book case she was scanning.

Tash pointed the gun at the floor and pulled the trigger and nothing happened, "Nope, we're good." She heard Amy grunt at her and she smiled. Amy's Concentration face always made her smile. A faint sound of rap music filled the silence and she rooted around in her pocket to pull out a mobile. Ignoring the glare she received from Amy, she answered the phone. "What ya got for us Tom?" She asked.

"Ok," Came a deep voice down the phone, loud enough for Amy to hear. "So back in 1980 something ..."

"80 something?" Amy asked raising one eyebrow.

"The website's not very clear alright! Anyway, in 1980 what ever, there was a huge prison riot at Strangeways, about 30 guards were killed and they reckon around 70 inmates."

"They reckon?" Tash asked, holding the phone out, so Amy could hear better.

"Not all the bodies were accounted for. And the ones that were ... well ... the guards didn't just beat them, they mutilated them."

"Pleasant." Tash said pursing her cherry red lips together as Amy sent her a worried look.

"Yeah, since then the amount of sightings of dark figures through the windows is ridiculous. And then there's the disappearances and murder's ..."

"Murder's?" Amy cut in. "There have been murder's?!"

"Did you not think to mention this before you sent us on this case?" Tash snapped.

"I thought you'd have done the research." Tom snapped back.

"That's your job!" Tash scoffed.

"Look whatever," Amy said impatiently. "What murder's?"

"Erm, one in 1988, another in 1994 and the most recent was in 2004. All victims were found brutally mutilated beyond recogonition. Police think it was just a way of disguising the bodies in with the undiscovered inmates ..."

"But that's obviously bullshit." Tash said, rubbing her forehead.

"Yeah ... And the number of disappearances is endless." Tom gulped, "After seeing the pictures, I've sent Mark and James down to meet you."

"What, why?" Tash exclaimed.

"Because it's dangerous."

"You just don't think we can manage ourselves because we're girls!"

"No i think that you've worn your heels again and have already made enough noise to wake every god damn ghost in there." Tom said smugly.

"Fuck off." Tash said hanging up. Amy sighed and slowly perched on the edge of a nearby chair. "Ok, so we're looking for an angry mob of ghostly criminals with no idea how to get rid of them." Tash held her head in her hands, "We can't torch all of the bodies if we have no idea how many fucking died here."

"We'll be fine, let's just go outside, and wait for the guys." Amy said calmly standing up again.

Tash pouted but followed her towards the hallway again. As she reached the doorframe, she paused, looking over at a photo frame on the wall. It was of a tall thin man in a guard uniform, holding a shotgun, and another in what looked like a lab coat. "Who's this?" She said aloud walking over to the picture and wiping her fingers delicately over the dust.

"Does it say anything?" Amy asked from behind her.

"Dr Briggs and ... Peter ... Chester." Tash read the curly writing at the bottom of the of the photo, "1955. Why would you need a doctor." She asked.

"Psychiatrist? Some inmates may be mentally ill i guess." Amy shrugged.

Tash lifted the photo off the wall and placed it beside her, revealing a small safe behind it. She brushed her hair behind her ear and placed it on the door. Slowly she turned the dial until she heard a click and stood back smugly, tapping the door so that it swung open. She raised her eyebrows at Amy and winked.

Amy pulled a face, "How do you do that?" Tash smirked and tapped her nose. "What ever." Amy reached round her and pulled out a handful of documents. "Lets see what goodies we have here." She sifted through the papers while Tash shone the torch light on the pages. "They look kinda like Journal entries." She said, "Look at this, November 6th 1956, 'Our plans for reformation are going well. Briggs is making good progress downstairs.'" She shuffled through the other pages, "'The patients are beginning to notice the disappearances. They're getting restless' ... 'I'm worried about Briggs safety, some of the inmates are becoming aggressive, I'll have to send down more guards for his protection.' ... 'The inmates have worked out what we're trying to achieve here, they're refusing to go quietly. Those fools! Don't they know what wanders we could give the world?' ... 'Inmate 4007 was only a partial success, we've held him under top security. Briggs is worried he'll escape but i've assured him it will be fine ... i hope.'"

"So ... there's something scary downstairs, is that what you're saying?" Tash asked frowning.

"Looks that way." Amy said nodding.

"Well lets go look then." Tash said turning on heel and walking out into the hallway.

"Wha ... Don't you think we should wait for the boys?" Amy asked running after her.

"Nah ... we'll be fine." Tash grinned. "Ok ... how do we get downstairs?" She looked around down the dark, blood stained hallway before deciding left was their best bet. Amy hurried behind her, trainers squeaking on the cold floor. She kept her hand on the pistol at her side and held the torch shakily in the other. "Can you hold that think still please? It's distracting."

Amy held it as still as she could, which did very little and stayed close to Tash's side until they came to a fork in the hallway. She peered down the left corridor into the darkness and sucked her teeth. There was a door, a few feet down, opened ever so slightly. For some reason it made her feel uneasy so she shone her flashlight on to it to clear her thoughts. She gasped at what she saw and dropped the light on the floor with a clang.

"What?"Tash said spinning round to look at her.

"There was someone in the door way ... his face ... his face was ..." Amy stammered.

Tash was quick to point her light on the doorway but it was empty. She looked over and frowned at Amy, who had bent down to pick up her torch, which was flickering on and off. "There's nothing there dude."

"There was!"

"Well not anymore." Tash shrugged, "Ok so .. which way do we go?"

"Not that way." Amy said glancing down at the door, which now appeared to be shut.

"Ok ... so i'll go that way, and you go the other?" Tash smiled cocking her rifle. Amy gave her a terrified look which made her laugh, "Honestly, you're the wimpiest hunter i've ever bloody met. Should've brought Lilly with me."

Amy scowled and marched past her down the hallway towards the stairs leading upwards. She gave Tash one last look of contempt before climbing the dark stairs, torch flickering like a christmas light. She shook it in frustration and it stayed on briefly before turning off completely. "Wonderful." She said bleakly, pulling out her phone and turning the torch on. It was dim but bright enough for her to see where she was going, if anything decided to jump out on her though, she wouldn't be able to see it coming. She took a deep breath and kept climbing until she reached another door. She paused at it and looked up the staircase, and then back at the door. She pushed it open slowly before pulling her hand back quickly, it was wet. She shone the torch on her palm and sighed. Blood ... and it looked fresh. "Jesus." She mumbled, stepping gingerly into the corridor. The empty cells shone against her torch light as she paced up the walkways; all doors were open, floor covered in debris and walls painted red. She suppressed a whimper and kept walking, hand firmly on her pistol. She suddenly became aware of movement behind her and stopped; spinning round she drew her gun and held in front of her, finger ready at the trigger. There was nothing there but the surrounding darkness. Scanning the room she lowered her gun slightly and relaxed her shoulders. She turned again but froze. She was met by a face, a beaten and bruised face, covered in blood. A hand grabbed her shoulder and she let out a shriek.

Tash walked down the hallways almost casually, gun pointed in front of her with the torch balanced on top of it. She whistled quietly to herself as her footsteps echoed in the silence. Every few minutes she would pause and look behind her. She knew damn well someone was in the corridor with her, but they weren't giving anything away anytime soon. Rolling her eyes she carried on until she came to a set of stairs leading to the lower levels. They looked rickety but she didn't really have much choice other than to go down. Placing her feet carefully in the first step she steadied her self as the steps swayed. 'Seems steady enough' she thought to herself and took another step down. A loud creaking noise filled the air before Tash suddenly became aware that the steps had actually come away from her feet and she was falling ... fast. She hit the ground hard and was covered in bits of metal as the rusted stairs crumpled around her. She groaned in pain and heaved herself from under it. Breathing heavily she looked up and her mouth dropped open. "Holy.. ?!"

Amy squealed and held up her gun but an arm brought it down hard again and she was forced against the cell bars. She saw the gleam of a gun in the moonlight and shut her eyes. There were gun shots fired but there was no pain, or sudden numbness. Slowly she opened her eyes and looked down. She couldn't take her eyes off his face. It was beaten so much that his eyes were barely visible. He was wearing a blue prison jump suit, a bullet wound in his chest, blood seeping out. A hand grabbed her arm making her jump.

"Amy? Are you hurt?" James asked, his voice full of concern.

"James? I ... No, no i'm ok."

"Good, we need to go."

"Where's Mark?" She asked, looking past him.

"Looking for Tash, come on." He pulled at her to make her move, "We need to move before more of these ghosts show up."

"They're not ghosts." Amy said, standing still.

"What?"

"Ghosts don't bleed."

Tash shuffled backwards into the dark as best she could lay low. Stood in front of her was possibly the tallest ... thing, she had ever seen. At least 7 foot, it was muscular, heavy and caked in blood ... not it's own by the looks of things. It thundered across the floor towards the broken staircase and rooted around the scrap metal, it knew she was there. She swore under her breath and tucked herself in the corner, scanning the floor for her gun. It wasn't far, but it was closer to him than her. she moved her leg slowly. It hurt, but she could probably stand on it. Whilst his back was to her she staggered to her feet, sucking in her pain and slowly limping to her rifle. As she bent to pick it up she felt a hard pain knock the wind out of her as she was thrown across the floor. She cried out, bouncing off the wall onto the floor. "Fuck!" She rolled on to her side and saw him stood over her gun grinning, if you could call it that. Half his face was missing, revealing bone and teeth. She stared wide eyed as he stooped and picked up her gun. She looked at his clothes, torn and hanging off him. "Prisoner 4007." She whispered. He made a loud gurgling sound as he advanced and she dug her hands into her jacket pocket, pulling out a small pouch. Ripping it open she thrust it at him, covering him in salt. She laughed at him, attempting to stand but stopped, face dropping as he shook the salt off himself and approached her again. "Wha ... what are you?"

"She was headed for the lower levels i think." Amy said as James examined the man on the floor.

"Yep ... definitely human." He said, more to himself. "Ok ... so ... no ghosts."

"I only bought rock salt with me." She said gesturing down to her pistol.

He reached in his pocket and chucked a handful of bullets at her, "Iron."

"Thanks." She said turning around, "I ..." She stopped. James turned as well and stopped. The walkway was filled with inmates, all staring at them. As Amy took a step back they all stepped forward. "James?"

"Run." He said. She didn't need telling twice, they turned and ran but stopped as they reached a dead end. "The window." James said pushing her towards the remains of a window, which had barely any glass left in it. Amy paused looking back at the inmates. They weren't chasing them, hell they hadn't made any attempt to follow them at all. They were just ... staring. She went to speak but James wrapped his arm around her waist and she was pulled down. The wind whistled through her hair and she hit the cold wet grass beneath her with a thud.

"Ow." She said rolling on to her back.

"Fuck." James grunted, pushing himself up. "That could have been ... unpleasant."

"They didn't attack us." Amy said quietly looking up at the window.

"Didn't give them time to." James said bluntly, "Come on, lets get back to the car."

"What about Tash and Mark?"

"They might already be there."

"They might not!"

Tash moved back against the wall behind her as Prisoner 4007 aimed her own gun at her head. She closed her eyes and gulped, she hadn't imagined she'd go out like this. There was a loud gun shot but no immediate pain or numbness, her eyes snapped open at the loud growling sound and saw that the beasts back was turned to her. She edged round him to see Mark loading his shot gun again. "Eat rock salt mother fucker!" He spat.

"Mark! It's not a ghost!"

"What do you mean it's not a ghost?" He shouted firing regardless. The hard lump of salt bounced off the deformed skin and landed on the floor in front of Prisoner 4007. He looked down at it and erupted into what could only be presumed as laughter. With that he thundered towards Mark but Tash shoved him out the way and was flung again into the steel cell bars behind her. She lay crumpled on the floor, hair covering her face like a curtain. Mark stood up stared down at Tash's unconscious body. "Hey!" He shouted angrily at the huge beast in front of him. It turned and grinned, "Come and get me dick head." He said beckoning the beast with his fingers. The creature thundered up to him and went to swipe with his enormous hands, but Mark jumped just in time and heard a loud clang behind him as Prisoner 4007 headbutted the bars hard behind him. He smirked but didn't look back, skidding over to Tash he scooped her up and slipped out of the room. He walked through the dark corridor, keeping his back close to the wall and Tash closer to his chest. She stirred and lolled her head on to his shoulder.

"Ergh ... Ow ... What?"

"Hey there sleepy head." He joked. "Think you can stand? All that make up's weighing you down."

"Piss off." She mumbled, but slid out his arms and on to her feet. She wobbled for a second but quickly regained her balance and followed him. "My gun?"

"Couldn't save you both." Mark said checking the corner before continuing.

"Oh Great." She said stooping to pull a knife off the side of her boot. They picked up the pace, or as fast as Tash could run with a limp in stilleto boots, rounding the corner straight into Amy and James.

"Fuck am i glad to see you guys." Mark breathed.

"Are you ok?" Amy asked, eyeing Tash's blood stained leggings.

"Wonderful ..." Tash began but was cut off by a loud thundering roar from behind them, and a faint thudding sound. "Oh Bollocks." She and Mark said under their breath.

"What was that?" James asked wearily.

"Fucking big." Mark frowned, "Come on, we have to move." He started to push in between them but halted, face pale. Amy , Tash and James slowly turned and froze. Stood in front of them was a wall of inmates; faces bruised, bloody and mutilated, some so swollen it was a wonder they could see. Mark and James raised their guns and Tash readied herself with her knife. Amy stared at the men in front of her, looking at their battered, bloody bodies ... She noticed that some weren't wearing jumpsuits; they were wearing normal clothes, jeans, jackets.

"Wait." She said.

"Amy we don't have time for this." Mark said glancing over his shoulder at the thudding in the darkness. He aimed his gun but Amy flung out her arm and pushed it as he pulled the trigger, firing a hole in the ceiling above. "Amy!" He snarled.

"They aren't trying to hurt us!" She cried.

"What?" James and Tash said together.

"Look at them, They're scared." She said looking back at the inmates, at their frightened eyes staring deeply into hers. "You're scared?" She asked them, stepping forward slightly. The men shuffled around and some nodded at her, not breathing a word. "Who are you afraid of? Dr Briggs?" The inmates recoiled at the mention of his name and she raised her hands, "Sorry, it's ok, it's ok! Is he ... is he here?" The men shook their heads. "Is he dead?" They nodded, some contorting their split lips into smirks. "So, who are you afraid of?" She asked gently, stepping forward again. There was a growl from behind her and the thudding intensified, the inmates moaned and became restless in front of her and some ducked into near by rooms.

"Ok Amy, wrap this up." Mark said turning his gun behind them to the dark corridor.

"Him? You're afraid of him?" They nodded. "He did this to you?" They nodded again, another few slipped away at the footsteps getting closer.

"Amy!" Mark snapped.

"It's ok, we'll stop him ok? I promise we'll stop him. Get yourselves to safety." She said ushering them back with her hands.

"What?" James said in disbelief.

"Don't you think they've suffered enough?" She said in frustration, looking back to the few that remained she stamped her foot making them jump. "GO!" The men obeyed and ran into the darkness. The thundering sound of footsteps behind them became louder. He was close.

"We need to go." Tash said, pulling at Mark who was readying himself. Standing on her bad leg she kicked at a door to her left but it didn't open. James tried too but something, or someone was barricading themselves behind it. They tried four more up the hallway until one flung open. Mark ushered them inside and immediately him and James pushed all the furniture they could see up against the door while Tash and Amy crouched in the corner. Amy drew her gun and pointed it at the door, while James and Mark flattened themselves against the wall either side. Footsteps echoed outside as prisoner 4007 approached, hammering the doors as he passed. James sucked in his breath. If it wanted, it could break the door down easily. The footsteps stopped outside and Amy could see it's shadow under the door in the moonlight. There was a bang at the door making them all jump, Tash hid herself under a desk clutching her bloody leg. Mark and James waited, ready to spring forward and shoot but there was no second bang on the door. Instead the footsteps moved away down the hall and died down until there was only silence.

"Oh thank fuck." James whispered lowering his gun and sliding down the wall.

"We need to get out." Mark said, beginning to pull the bookshelf they had used to the side.

"Wait, we can't go out there!" Tash hissed, popping up from under the desk. "What if he's just waiting for us a little up the hall?"

"Well we can't just sit in here until he breaks the door down!" Mark snapped.

"Guys!" James snarled, "This is not the time to start a fight! Ok ... we need a plan. How are we gonna take the big guy out?"

"You have bullets." Amy whispered.

Mark shook his head, "Won't touch him." He looked over at Tash desperately. "You sure he ain't a ghost?"

"Positive."

"He's human ... they all are." Amy replied sadly.

"And you know this because?" James asked sighing.

"They die when you shoot them?" Amy said bluntly, "How many ghosts do that? And didn't you see what they were wearing?"

"I'm sorry, i wasn't aware we were acting as the fashion police today as well." Mark said sarcastically.

Amy frowned. "They're not all inmates. Some of them look like normal people."

"The disappearances." Tash said quietly, "Once people came in, they couldn't get out."

"What do you mean they couldn't get out?" James said looking puzzled.

"That way leads to the prison entrance." Amy said pointing to her left. "That thing must've been blocking the exit. That's why the surviving inmates are all still here."

"Why would he do that?" Mark said angrily.

"Must get his kicks outta beating the snot out of everyone smaller than him ... which is literally everyone." Tash muttered.

"Or someone is making him." James said.

"How did you two get in here then?" Mark demanded in frustration.

"We used the window." Tash said like it was obvious. "Who goes in through the front door? How did you get in?"

"Window." He mumbled.

"Shut it you two!" James snapped, "Briggs ... Who was that?" He asked walking over to Amy and sitting down.

"One of the founders." Tash answered, "He was a doctor here, we think he was experimenting ... He ... Made what ever the fuck that guy is." She sighed, resting her head in her hands.

"And he's dead?"

"Must be." Mark shrugged.

"Call Tom." Amy said suddenly, looking over at Tash.

"Why?"

"Just ... do it. Please."

Tash dialled Tom's number and turned the speaker phone on. "Hello?"

"Tom, we need help."

"Are you ok?" Tom asked, sounding worried.

"Yes, we're ok." Amy said leaning over the phone. "But this wasn't what we were expecting. They're not ghosts, they're people."

"What?" Tom said in disbelief.

"They're human. Look we need to know what happened to Dr Briggs. Please hurry."

They heard hurried typing and clicking as Tom sighed and huffed down the phone. "Ok ... erm ... he's dead."

"Yes we know that! How did he die?" Tash snapped.

"Oh ... erm ... In the riot, the inmates murdered him." Tom said, they could hear him scrolling as he spoke.

"What about Chester?" Amy asked pulling the phone back to her. "The guy who founded the place, where is he?"

"They ... never found him." Tom said slowly as he read, "They searched everywhere for him ... couldn't find him."

Amy nodded, "Ok ... thanks Tom."

"Amy wait! Do you want me to send the Suede's?"

"Hulk and She-Hulk?" Mark laughed, "No thank you."

"You're sure you'll be ok?"

"No. But we'll keep you posted." Tash said hanging up.

"So ... what did we gain from that lovely little chat exactly." Mark said turning to Amy.

"Chester never left. Which means that he could potentially ..." Amy started.

"Be controlling that thing, and setting him on anyone who tries to leave." Tash finished.

"Exactly." Amy agreed. "He could still be here somewhere."

"But why are they keeping more people? All those disappearances ..." James asked, tilting his head.

"Chester and Briggs were trying to do something, they were working on creating something ... Maybe he's trying to finish Briggs work." Tash shrugged.

"Well this has all been very educational, gold stars all round." Mark rolled his eyes, "But it doesn't really help the fact that we're stuck here with no idea of how to kill Tiny out there."

Tash and James frowned at him and turned their backs. "Ok." James said, "So we know that the inmates out there won't harm us right? So maybe we can ... i don't know, get them to cover our backs?"

"How are we supposed to do that? Their terrified of that thing." Mark said, pressing his ear to the door.

"We don't exactly have much choice." James shrugged. "We need someone to talk to them, get them on our side." They all turned to Amy, who was picking her nails nervously.

"What, me?" She stammered. "Why me?"

"Because they're more likely to trust you than us. I've already shot one and Mark tried to gun them down." James explained, "And Tash is ... Tash." She kicked him making him wince, "So that just leaves you."

"So you just want me to go up to them and ask to use them as a human shield?" Amy asked pulling a face.

James thought for a second, "Ok no ... but if we see them ... we could ask for help. Come on, what other choice do we have?"

"Stay here and rot until tiny bursts in and rips all to shreds." Mark said bitterly.

"Exactly." James nodded in agreement.

"Ok, ok. So ... where so you think Chester is even held up?"

"My guess would be ... basement?" Tash suggested, "Wasn't that what the journal said? "

"It said downstairs, but i can't imagine they'd hold experiments for all to see, so we could try it i guess." Amy sighed.

"Brilliant." Mark sucked his teeth.

The hallways were empty and pitch black, eerily silent, as they walked down. Keeping close to each other, Tash was in the middle, limping and occasionally wincing. They followed the stairs to the very bottom and came to damp corridor, that only led to the boiler room.

"Well this was a good idea, nice deduction Sherlock. There is no basement." Mark said irritably.

Tash scowled and hobbled over to the far wall covered in levers, knobs and dials. She inspected it closely and scanned over the wall for a second before yanking hard at a long red lever in the middle. There was a loud creaking noise and the wall to her left moved back gently, just enough for someone to squeeze through. She smirked at him and stepped through. Mark gave her a dirty look and followed through, and then Amy and then James, who stepped through backwards to make sure nothing else followed them in. There were lights running along the walls that lit up the cold stone through the narrow walkway.

"Cosy." Mark muttered. They walked for what felt like hours until they came to a thick wooden door, light flickered behind it from under the door. He went to push it but paused, listening intently. "Sounds clear." He whispered. They nodded back to him and gently he put his hand on the handle.

"It's about time." A voice came from behind the door. "I've been looking forward to seeing you."

They aimed their weapons as Mark wrenched the door open. The room was round and full of all sorts of medical tables and equipment that looked almost like torture implements. They walked in, keeping huddled in a circle and scanning the room for the speaker.

"Do you like my little sanctuary?" The voice echoed through the air, "I come here when i feel like a little me time. You've come at just the right time, I was getting bored of my usual patients. Most of them keep dying." He chuckled, "Too old I suppose, but a group of strong young hunters ... you'll do perfectly."

"Perfectly for what?" Mark shouted out, "What are you trying to do?"

"The future," The voice came nearer but still they couldn't see who it belonged to, "Is science, my dear boy. All myself and dear old Briggs wanted to do was help people, make them unstoppable ... invincible!"

"So you used prisoners?" Tash snapped.

"When you put it like that, it does sound bad. I like to look at them as volunteers. They were stupid enough to get put in prison, they volunteered to be my guinea pigs."

"That's not how it works! They're people!" Amy cried out.

The cold laugh that followed sent chills down her spine, "My dear sweet girl, if you knew what these ... 'people' had done to get here, you'd thank me. They deserve to live like they do. They owe it to society to ..."

"Suffer in your monstrous experiments?!" Amy spat in anger.

"Precisely. And now you're here, you can join them. I must admit, getting you here took longer than i thought. I even sent my star pupil down to get you."

"By star pupil you mean that thing that nearly killed me?" Tash scowled.

"He is a bit rough isn't he? I do apologize, forgets his strength you see." The voice was near now, somewhere in the shadows. They scanned the walls for him, keeping together. "But i'm sure in time you're going to get along just fine."

"In time?" James answered uneasily.

"Well, you didn't think you were going to just walk of here did you?" He laughed.

"No actually." Mark said, "We're going to kill you and your oversized lab rat, then leave."

"My dear boy." The voice changed it's tone, from casual and almost charming to firm and intimidating. "That will not be happening anytime soon." As he finished his sentence a thick green fog filled the room and all went black.

Amy opened her eyes slowly, coughing. Her lungs felt thick and heavy, like she had a cold. She went to reach up and rub her forehead but became quickly aware that she couldn't move her arms. She went to lift her head to look down but couldn't move that either. Panicking she squirmed around, struggling under the bonds that held her down.

"Amy, cool it, it's ok." She heard James whisper. She moved her head to the side as much as she could to her left and stared at James. He was led down on a medical table, with straps across his wrists, legs, waist and head. He smiled weakly at her. "We'll be ok." He said again.

"And how exactly do you work that one out?" Marks voice came from her right.

"Because we always are." James said, forcing the positivity into his voice.

"Somehow," Tash said from his left, "I don't see it."

"Ah, you're all awake. How unfortunate for you." Came the voice. Stepping into view, a tall, thin elderly man in a white blood stained lab coat smiled at them all. "Sadly i ran out of morphine and anaesthetic a long time a go, but i hear pain builds character." He ran his fingers over the various equipment on his table and finally picked up a long knife. "Well ... lets begin then shall we?" He paced back and forth in front of them. Amy breathed heavily and wiggled under her the straps again. "Who do we start with eh?" He asked gently, "The thug?" He paused at Mark, "The innocent?" She felt him brush her leg, "The whore?" He walked past James and stroked Tash's cleavage with the knife, before turning back to James again. "Or you?" James tensed against the table. Chester ran the knife down the his cheek, leaving a line of blood.

"James." Amy choked in panic.

Despite his fear, James smiled at her, "We'll be ok." He said gently. He closed his eyes as Chester raised his knife again and made for another cut.

"Hey! Dr Dickhead!" Came a familiar voice and a blood splattered through Chester's head onto James's face.

"Eurgh!" He exclaimed, "For fucks sake Ollie!"

"Hey, just be grateful i got there before he carved up your pretty little face." Ollie mocked, his thick jamaican accent filled Amy's ears with joy. She felt the straps on her ankled loosen and Ollie's sister Ali suddenly appeared at her side.

"Thank god." Amy sighed, sitting up right. "So Tom sent you guys anyway?"

"Sent? He practically begged us." Ali laughed helping her down. She moved to Mark and helped undo his straps before turning back to Tash who slid off the table and balanced on one leg. "Looks nasty." Ali said glancing down at it.

"I've had worse." Tash shrugged. "How'd you get passed big boy?"

"Big boy?" Ollie asked looking at her in confusion.

"He's not exactly hard to miss." Mark said, scouting the room for their guns. "Bout' 7 ft tall, ugly as fuck. No?"

Ollie shook his head, "Nope."

"Guess your stink scared em' off then." Ali teased opening a cupboard and pulling out an armful of guns. They each grabbed their weapon and moved towards the door.

"So, plan?" Tash asked.

"Leave." Ali and Ollie said together.

"What about the inmates, and that thing?" Amy asked from the back.

"If we see em' we kill em'." Ollie called back.

"Good look with that." Mark sniggered.

The hallways were empty as the ran back upstairs to the main entrance. There was no sign of the inmates or of prisoner 4007.

"Where is everyone?" Ali asked, "You said this place was full of them."

"It was." Amy said uneasily.

"Well ... I don't see anyone."

"Good." Mark interjected. "The easier we can get out the quicker we can figure out a way to get rid of them."

"Get rid of them?" Amy slowed to a stop.

"Amy come on!" James called, grabbing at her wrist.

"What do you mean 'get rid of them', we can't kill them!" She pulled away from him.

"Amy we can discuss this later, right now we ..." Tash began.

"No, there is no discussion. We are not killing these men. We're setting them free."

Everyone stopped and looked at her.

"Free?" Ollie repeated, "Amy these men are murderer's ... Rapists."

"You want them walking around the streets?" Ali finished.

"They've spent their entire sentence being beaten and experimented on! I think they've more than paid for it." Amy snapped, turning pink.

"Well, we don't care what you think." Mark said turning round and starting to walk.

"Come on Amy, we promise we'll think of a way to get them all out safely but right now we need to go." James pleaded.

Amy frowned and opened her mouth when she heard a yell.

Mark sprinted past them all shouting, "FUCK WE NEED TO GO!" followed swiftly by a chair which hit the wall in front of them. A familiar gurgling shout could be made out and they all looked at him.

"What did you do?!" Tash shouted at him.

"Me? you guys are the ones who stopped! We could be out by now, if little Miss Good Samaritan hadn't decided to ..." Another chair hit the wall next to him and he hit the floor, covering his head.

"Ok, new plan ... Run!" James shouted and they ran for the nearest set of stairs. He ushered Amy, Tash and Ali up first while Ollie and Mark fired rounds at the monster to try and slow it down. They went to start down the hallway when Ollie cried out and he was pulled back down on to the floor.

"Ollie!" Ali cried and jumped the railing on to it's back.

"Alison!" Tash cried going to follow but Mark pulled her back.

"Great!" He called down, "You distract him and we'll ..."

"Fucking hurry up!" Ollie shouted kicking at hits enormous hands as she struggled to stand up.

"Right!"

"What do we do?" Amy asked, panicked.

"Erm, um ... we uh ... Oh i don't know!" Tash said, spinning on the spot for something to use.

"I have an idea!" James said suddenly. He went to run but took Amy's shoulders. "I'm sorry. Please wait here." He nodded at Mark and they both sprinted off.

"We need to help them." Tash said, leaning over the railing to look down at Ollie and Ali who were now wrestling with the monster.

"How?"

Tash grimaced at her before hopping the railing and landing on the beasts head. He quickly grabbed her leg and swung her across the room.

"Tash!" Amy cried out, running down the stairs. "Stop!" She shouted at the creature as he advanced on her friend. "Just stop! Why are you doing this? Why can't you just stop?!"

"Amy, how many of our hunts have you successfully talked the monster out of killing someone?" Ollie asked, throwing a brick at the monsters head.

"My last count ... non." Ali continued, ducking as the brick was returned.

"Actually, there was that one vampire." Amy corrected them before returning her attention to prisoner 4007. "Please ... This can all be over. You can walk free, just stop hurting everyone." Prisoner 4007 tilted his head slightly and walked slowly up to her. "See ... You can do it. I know you're still a good man ... deep down right?"

He smiled down at her and she smiled back. His grin quickly distorted and he roared out, lifting his arm ready to swipe. Amy cried out and covered her face with her arms but stopped as she heard the beast cry out. From no where a wave of prisoners had appeared and were quickly advancing on the monster, pulling him to the ground.

She stared in disbelief before being pulled back by James as Mark ran past, leaving a train something that smelt suspiciously like petrol. He ran straight up to the bundle of prisoners and emptied the remains on them.

"No!" Amy screamed out. James picked her up and turned.

"Run!" Mark shouted and the others followed. He hitched Tash onto his shoulder as she started to fall behind. As the were running Tash pulled her lighter out her pocket and lit it, throwing it onto the puddle that lay on the floor.

A trail of fire lit the room ablaze and smoke filled the air as they burst out into the open air. Ollie and Ali slammed the doors shut and wrapped a nearby chain around the bars.

"You said we wouldn't kill them!" Amy struggled against James's arms. "You said we wouldn't kill them!"

"I didn't." Mark said raising his eyebrows.

Amy glared at him before pouncing and beating at his chest. "There was innocent people in there! victims! It's our job to save the victims!" She screamed at him. There was a loud boom and part of the building exploded into flames making Amy jump back.

"What was that?" Tash asked, kneeling on the floor and clutching her injured leg.

"The gas in the kitchens still worked." James said sadly. "Amy I'm so sorry."

Amy looked him in the eyes and saw that he was sincere, but struggled to let it go. "We could have saved them." She whispered.

The fire light flickered in his big blue eyes and he smiled at her, "If it's any consolation ... I'd say they died like heroes."


	2. Chapter 2

**Black Molly**

Lilly woke up and stretched as the morning sunlight shone through her curtains onto her face. She dressed in a baggy top and jogging bottoms before leaving to take a run through the woods, as she did every morning. She lived, with the other 7 hunters, in a large country home on the edge of the woods. It was quiet, secluded and a good place to train. She ran for 2 hours in her regular circuit before returning ready for breakfast. She was the last one in but Sheila made sure that she had plenty to eat.

"I do wish you wouldn't go out on an empty stomach." Sheila said, spooning eggs onto a plate for her. Her Irish accent rang on the air, always leaving a smile on Lilly's face.

"I've gone without before." She smiled. Sheila looked sadly at her before turning back to Ollie who was arguing with his sister over who was a better driver ... again. It was a known fact that Ollie was the best driver of the group, but Ali still liked to taunt him.

"Come on you two, stop fighting and eat up." Sheila said fondly, serving up seconds of bacon onto everyone's plate. She paused at her husband. Robbie; a slightly overweight, balding man in his 50's who had taught Lilly almost everything she knew about self defence.

"I think you've had enough." She joked.

"Well It's not my fault you're such a great cook." He said smugly, as Sheila filled his plate regardless.

"You smooth talker." She said, stroking his shoulder with affection. Robbie and Sheila McDonald. Foster parents if you will, to the 7 hunters who lost everything. They found Lilly wandering the country after her mother and father were slaughtered by demons when she was 15 and gave her a home. This was something she could never repay them for.

"Well." Robbie said, stretching and wiping the grease from his beard. "I don't to ruin anyone's appetite but I have a job for any who're willing?" He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket.

Lilly went to take it but Tash took it as she passed and winked at her. She unfolded it and raised her eyebrows. "Black Molly's Bridge? Catchy name." She dropped into Lilly's lap.

"Who's Black Molly?" Amy asked from behind her book at the far end of the table.

"She is a ghost." Tom said, leaning across the table for the coffee jug. "Born 1801, died 1835"

"How did she die?" Lilly asked, helping to gather plates.

"Hung. She was a maid in the Gaston family home, having an affair with the Lord by all accounts." He took a sip of coffee and pulled a face, reaching for the sugar.

"How do you know that?" Ali asked.

Tom raised his eyebrows at her. Tom spent more time pouring over history books and the internet than anyone Lilly had ever met. He had since been designated the group researcher and together he and Robbie were in charge of looking for cases. "Anyway." He continued, "After he'd had all the fun he wanted with her, he dumped her and threatened to out her as a whore if she told anyone. She went mad after being rejected by her true love and murdered his wife in her sleep and scalded his only son to death before she was caught. They her hung off a local bridge and it was then known as 'Black Molly's Bridge.'"

"Right ... Lovely topic for breakfast." Tash said, lowering her apple. "And how do we know she's a ghost?"

"Because every 10 years, someone goes missing on that bridge. All male. All to have known to be having an affair."

"You need to get out more." James said raising his eyebrows as Tom sat back proudly.

"He'll burst into flames if he goes into sunlight." Ollie smirked.

"Right, well I have the co-ordinates here. It's actually not far. About 40 minutes drive." Robbie said pulling out another peice of paper. "Who's going?"

"I will." Lilly said eagerly, yanking the paper from his hands.

"Anyone else?" Robbie asked, looking around. "Mark?"

Mark had been silently drinking whiskey and pushing his eggs around his plate for all of breakfast. He raised his eyes slightly to meet Robbies and burped.

"Pleasant." Sheila said, putting her hands on his shoulders. "Why don't you go lie down sweetheart." Mark nodded and stood up, swaying.

"I got ya." Tash said grabbing his arm and helping out of the room.

Mark and James had only been back from a hunt about 3 hours. They'd been out to kill a nest of vampires and it hadn't gone to plan. Mark had to take out a 6 year old girl and it'd hit him hard. James wasn't there at the time so he stood up and took the paper from Lilly.

"I'll go."

"Shouldn't need more than two of you." Robbie said, looking down the table. "Unless anyone else wants to go."

Ollie and Ali were still bickering and Amy was explaining her book, a romantic novel, to Tom in great detail. James grinned. "Looks like it's just us two then."

"Great," Lilly smiled. "I'll drive."

Lilly insisted James get some sleep for most of the day and then they set off in the evening. They drove in silence for the majority of the ride and after about 25 minutes James had fallen asleep again anyway. As they are neared a small village, where the bridge was located Lilly looked over at James, whose face was pressed against the window with his mouth open. She smiled and slowly moved her hand over to the stereo.

IT WAS LIKE A TIME BOMB SET INTO MOTION!

"Murph, Mark give my pants back!" He snorted, snapping awake and flailing in his seat.

"Excuse me?" Lilly burst out laughing.

James stared at her, eyes wide. "What did you do that for?" He snapped, turning the stereo down.

"Because we're almost there ... And it was funny." James scowled at her and snuggled back down in his chair. "So ... Another Mark dream?"

"Shut up."

"You know he doesn't swing that way right honey?"

James glared at her, "It's not what you think."

"Oh please, we all know you fancy him. Well ... Except Mark. Boy's about as bright as broken bulb." James didn't answer and turned to look out the window. "Oh, come on. You're not in a mood with me, are you?"

He sighed and looked straight ahead. "No." He said bluntly.

"Good." Lilly said smiling.

The drive through the village was about 5 minutes and soon they came to the bridge. It was old, crumbly and covered in mould. Lilly pulled into a layby and they climbed out of the car. James walked round to the boot while she shone a torch across the bridge. He threw a shot gun and slammed the boot shut.

"So ... This is nice." He said, pulling his hoodie around his neck.

"Mm." Lilly said. "So ... any sign of her?"

"Don't you think I would have said something if I saw a murderous ghost?" He frowned at her.

"... Shut up. Ok well, It's cold and I really don't feel like waiting around." She said walking back towards the village.

"Where are you going?" James asked crossing his arms.

"I'm seeing if I can get down there." She said pointing to the train tracks below them.

"Is that wise? I'm not scraping you up off the floor."

Lilly rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine ok. Just ... Keep your eyes open."

James pulled a face and turned back to the bridge as Lilly walked to the grassy verge and started to slide down towards the tracks. He watched her walk up and down followed the light from her torch.

"Anything?" He called.

"Nada." She shouted back up.

"Pff ... of course." He muttered, hiding his hand in his sleeve so that just the torch poked out. He turned round and his mouth dropped open.

"You!" James was thrown across the road, his torch rolling under the car. He looked up to see a woman wearing a long black skirt and black blouse standing above him. She flickered in the moon light, her face full of rage. "I loved you!" She growled, going to swipe at him again.

"Hey!" The ghost turned just as a pellet of rock salt hit her abdomen and she disappeared.

James looked up at her and gulped. "Cheers."

"Ok." James said slamming the passenger door as Lilly started the engine. "So it's definitely a ghost. That's reassuring I guess."

"And from the way she reacted to you, I'm assuming she's the reason all those guys have gone missing."

"So all we need to do is find out where she was buried and burn the bitch." James nodded.

"Right and then we ..." She gasped, looking into her mirror and slammed on the breaks. James looked up and saw the pale grey eyes looking back at him before a very tight cold grip appeared around his neck. He clawed at the dashboard, "Lilly!" He gasped.

Lilly pulled in and whipped round but the ghost was gone. "Where'd she go?" She asked turning to James but he was staring straight in front of him. She looked round and saw the maid, pale, gaunt and with a crazed look in her eyes. She put her hand on the bonnet of the car and slowly clawed down, flaking the red paint work.

"Hey hey hey! What are you doing?!" Lilly shouted, beeping the horn.

"How could you do this to me? You loved me!" She wailed to James.

He tilted his head, "What?"

Lilly turned to him, "Something you wanna fess up to?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" He said, flustered.

"Ok fuck this!" Lilly said impatiently, revving the engine. They sped forward and the ghost disappeared. Lilly kept driving until the bridge and the village was far behind them.

"What now?" James asked.

"We're going home, that's what. I don't want that bitch in my car anymore than you do."

James nodded, "Ok."

"What was that all about anyway?"

"I have no idea." James shook his head.

"So ... You haven't been getting it on with a 179 year old ghost?"

"No!" James snapped.

"Ok ... ok, I just had to be sure."

As they pulled into the driveway Robbie opened the door and came out smiling. He walked down the steps over to them and opened his arms. "Well that was quick, I didn't expect you to be home till tomorrow. I'll tell Sheila to get some supper on for you two."

Lilly shook her head. "It's not dead ... We had ... an unexpected turn of events."

Robbie looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"This." James said walking over to the scratch marks in on the bonnet of the car, he traced the marks with his fingers.

"Wha ... Of fu ... Come on man!" Lilly said holding her head and she saw the marks.

Robbie walked over and frowned.

Marie Newton

"Who's that?" He asked looking up at James.

"My ex girlfriend. I need to find Tom." He sighed.

"You're what?" Lilly asked. "But you're gay!" James scowled at her.

"Come on you two, inside." Robbie said, putting his arm around James, "Sheila, the kids are home!"

Sheila sat them both down with a hot drink and a bagel each and left them with Robbie. He smiled at James and said, "Ok Kiddo. Wanna explain?"

James sighed. "Tom said that all the men who disappeared had had affairs right?"

"Right." Lilly said.

"Right." James said quietly.

"Are you saying that you cheated on that girl written on Lilly's car?" Robbie asked gently.

James nodded, looking down at his hands. "When I was 16. We'd been going out for 2 years and we were like best friends. It was great but ... I started noticing boys and it was like ... It wasn't right. I didn't say anything to her coz I didn't really get it myself. And then I met this guy and ..." He trailed off.

"You cheated on her?" Lilly asked.

James nodded again. "I didn't mean to." He said, "We were just friends at first, I mean, I thought he was good looking but I didn't really take any notice of it you know? And then it got more than that, I couldn't stop thinking about him. Finally we went to a house party and we kissed. And then Marie came in." He sighed. "I tried to explain, to break it to her gently but she just started screaming at me and then she told everyone at school and ... I changed schools pretty fast put it that way." He banged his head on the table and moaned.

"... Wow." Lilly said, her eyebrows raised. "So ... you didn't really have an affair so to speak ... You just kissed a guy. No biggy."

"No biggy?" James repeated looking up.

"Yeah I mean, who hasn't kissed a member of the same sex on a drunken night out?" She shrugged.

He looked over at Robbie who nodded and took a swig of beer. "Yeah well try telling that to Black Molly out there. Far as she's concerned I'm scum."

"She's also a murderous ghost ... I wouldn't take her opinion of you to heart."

"True ..." He nodded. He sighed, "Ok so ... How do we kill her?"

"We Salt and burn her." Lilly said standing up.

"She was cremated." Came a sleepy voice from the kitchen door. Tom came in, dragging his feet and rubbing his eyes. He was wearing a baggy blue top and grey sweatpants.

"She what?" Lilly said, her face dropping.

"The locals were pretty clued up on ghosts it turns out." Tom yawned.

"And you tell us this now!" Lilly snapped.

"I didn't know! I started reading a little further into it, because it's quite interesting ..."

"Nerd"

"... And that's when I read that she was cremated. Sorry" He shrugged.

"Ok, so there's obviously something on that bridge, that holds her there." Robbie said. "The rope?"

"I didn't see any. But then I wasn't really looking."

"We can go back and look?" James paused. "Maybe in the day time."

"Yeah, but maybe you wanna see this first?" Tom asked, gesturing to his bedroom door.

Lilly pulled up by the bridge and turned the engine off. "You ready?" She asked, looking over at James.

"Yeah." James shrugged, opening her door.

"You know she's wrong right? The ghost ... You didn't do anything wrong ok?"

"Yeah I know." James nodded, avoiding eye contact.

They walked back and forth across the bridge scanning every inch of ground. Lilly walked back down onto the tracks and looked around there but they didn't find anything. She climbed back up the bank sighing, "Nothing. I don't know how we're gonna kill this bitch."

James pulled a face, "Maybe what ever it is got like ... I don't know, tarmaced in when they remade the bridge?"

Lilly stopped and stared at him, wide eyed.

James dropped his arms to his sides. "She's behind me again isn't she?" He felt a cold, strong grip on his shoulder and he was whipped round and thrown against the brick wall.

"James!" Lilly started towards them but Molly through her across through the open door of the car. As she sat up the doors slammed shut and she heard the locks. "James!" She shouted, hammering against the glass.

He looked from her back up to the cold dead face staring back at him, her eyes were pale and glassy.

"You! You killed me!" She screeched at him. "You betrayed me! I loved you and you betrayed me!" She raised her hand.

"I know." James said, barely a whisper. "I'm sorry."

The ghost paused, tilting her head at him.

"I know." He raised his voice a little. "And I'm sorry. I loved you too, and I betrayed you. Marie."

The ghost lowered her arm, staring at him.

"I never meant to hurt her." He said looking up into her dead eyes. "I loved her, I really did. Just like Lord Gaston loved you."

She gasped at his name and staggered back.

"It's true! He loved you Molly, he just ... He couldn't be with you because it would have ruined his status."

The ghosts face filled with rage and she started towards him.

"No, look!" He pulled a crumpled peice of paper. "I found this, It's a journal entry. Lord Gaston's journal. He wrote it before he died."

Pain and confusion flashed through her face. "Died." She whispered.

"He's been dead a long time Molly. But before he did he wrote this. 'I miss her terribly. She was the love of my life, and she's been gone so so long. My poor dear Molly.'"

Molly's face filled with hope and the corners of her mouth twitched.

"'I only hope that I can find her again in this next life, and we can be together for ever.' See ... He loved you Molly." James said, smiling.

Molly stood back, staring at the ground. She nodded slowly and raised her eyes to meet his and smiled. A bright light surrounded her and she faded in the daylight leaving James said on the floor. The car doors bleeped as they unlocked and Lilly came running over to him.

"Oh thank god! I really didn't want to have to smash my window."

James grinned and stood up, wiping the dirt from his jeans. "I had it covered."

"Is she gone?"

"Yep."

"How did you ...?"

"Tom. He found a journal entry, from Molly's ex lover." He handed the paper over to Lilly and she scanned through it. "Looks like her love of Gaston was what was keeping her here. She just wanted to know he felt the same."

"But ... This is about Lady Gaston."Lilly said in confusion.

"Yes ... But she didn't know that." James grinned.


End file.
